Orange and Rockland Utilities (O&R) today warned its customers that crooks have launched a new round of predatory phone calls aimed at stealing O&R customers’ money. This latest round of harassing phone calls started last week when O&R customers reported a rash of phone calls seeking payment for bogus O&R bills.The scheme goes this way: Crooks posing as O&R employees call unsuspecting customers, inform them that their O&R account has been suspended for non-payment and that an O&R crew will be at their home in 15 minutes to disconnect their electric service.That threat is quickly followed by a demand for immediate payment of the bogus bill balance by prepaid debit card. Customers who have challenged the crook’s report about the fraudulent bill, saying that they checked their account balance online during the phone call, are dismissed as incorrect. The crook then aggressively renews the demand for immediate payment until the customer agrees to pay or hangs up on the crook.